Split thread guide



April 6, 1954 w. BAKKER SPLIT THREAD GUIDE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 24, 1952 W (Illa/m flwlclwl W ATTORNEY April 6, 1954 w. BAKKER SPLIT THREAD GUIDE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 24, 1952 4 INVENTOR Wv'Zlem/ Ba /[alter I ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 6, 1954 SPLIT THREAD GUIDE Willem Bakker, Arnhem, Netherlands, assignor to American Enka Corporation, Enka, N. 0., a

corporation of Delaware Application J une. 24, 1952, Serial'No.--295,202 I Claims'priority, application Netherlands July 10, 1951- 12 Olaims.= (Cl. 242-157) 1 This invention relates to a thread guide, and particularly to a thread guide useful for the traversing of a thread during the operation of winding the thread on a spool and more especially on a spool of an up-twister. The invention also relates to the various parts or elements of which the thread guide is manufactured in accordance I with the invention. The thread guide is especially useful in rayon manufacture, although it is not limited thereto.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide a new and improved thread guide structure which is abrasion-resistant,

which may be readily cleaned, and which may be readily replaced from time to time as may be desired.

The manner in which the foregoing and other objects and features of the invention are attained will appear more fully from the following description thereof, in which reference is made to typical and preferred structural details merely to indicate more fully the nature of the invention but without attempting to limit the invention thereby.

In various textile manipulations, -e. g., when winding twisted yarns on a spool of an ,uptwister, the moving thread is guided through the narrow slit of a'reciprocating thread guide. The known thread guides consist essentially of a metal holder which is fastened to the traversing show various undesirable properties, they never.-.

theless are employed widely in the textile industry. Due to the fact that a narrow slit mustbe 1 present in the hard abrasion-resistant part, it is very'difficult to manufacture these thread guides. It is very difficult to check the interior of the slit through which the threadpasses for cutting-in of the planes or sides or for soiling.

It is alsodifiicult to fasten thispart, which, as

indicated above, generally does not consist of metal. When cutting-in occurs and a new thread guiding part must be mounted, much time and labor are consumed in connection with the removal of the lute and the reluting. Cleaning of the narrow slit'of the thread guides on soiling; for example such as may be caused by caking'of 2 the substances used for the finishing of the thread or by fluffs, is difficult, if at all possible.

In accordance with the present invention, however, a thread guide structure is provided in which the above-mentioned disadvantages are avoided and in which moreover other advantages are realized. The thread guide, according to the present invention, is characterized in that the thread guide consists of two parts which, with the aid of a suitable fastening member, are fastened on a thread guide holder in such a way that a slit is present between the two parts for engaging the thread as it passes therebetween on its way to the spool.

In order to indicate still more fully the nature of the present invention, the following description of a desirable embodiment of the invention is given by way of illustration, and not as limiting the scope of the invention. Reference is made to the accompanying figures in which:

Figures land 2 show schematically the manner of application of the thread guide according to the present invention;

Figure 3 showsin perspective an embodiment of a thread guide according to the present invention;

Figure 4 shows in perspective a holder for the thread guide of Figure 3;

Figure 5 shows in perspective the two parts of the thread guide according to Figure 3 that is made of an abrasion-resistant material;

Figure 6 shows in perspective a back-view of the spring structure for the thread guide according to Figure 3;

Figure 7 shows in perspective a front-view of the spring structure for the thread guide according to Figure 3; and

Figure 8 shows in perspective a spring structure corresponding to that of Figure 7, which, for clarity, has been cut in two.

Turning now to Figures 1 and 2 which illustrate schematically the action of a conventional up-twister as employed in the textile industry, it is seen that from the rotating spool l the thread 2 passes by way of the usual thread guides 3 and 4 to the spool 5 driven by the thread layer. At a veryshort distance in front of the winding spool 5, the thread 2 passes the traversing thread guide 6. With the aid of a holder, this thread guide is fastened to a member 1 which reciprocates in a known way (not shown) parallel to the axis of the spool 5.

Figure 3 illustrates how, during the winding operation, the thread 2 moves through thenarrow slot 8 of the thread guide 6. The slot 8 is formed by the cooperating parts 9 which, with the aid of a spring structure ID to be described later, are fastened on the thread guide holder l I. The holder I I is provided with a plate l2 (Figure 4) which is disposed at right angles to and midway of a vertically extending back l3. Back I3 is provided near its base with a groove I4, which groove is present on the lower end of that side of the back l3 to which the plate is not fixed.

The thread guiding portion of the thread guide 6 consists of the two cooperating parts 9 which are shown individually in Figure 5. Each part 9 consists of a body portion i5 and a stem piece I6. The stem piece I6 is provided with a groove I! and on the opposite side of the groove the body I5 is bounded by a flat plane l8 which also extends over the corresponding side of the stem piece 16. The two parts 9, which are mirror images of each other, are placed with the flat plane l8 disposed aganist the plate I 2 of the holder II, and consequently the width of the slot 8 through which the thread 2 passes is determined by the thickness of the plate i2see Figures 3 and 4:. The two stem pieces l6 abut against the back It and the grooves I! are present on the outsides of the thread guiding parts 9. The spring structure Iii (see Figures 3, ,6, 7 and 8) keeps the two parts 9 in their proper places on the holder 5 I. The holder H is provided with a suitable slot or opening id for the purpose of fastening or attaching the holder l i to the reciprocating member l (Figures 1 and 2).

The spring structure It (Figures 6 and '7) consists of a flat vertical portion 26. On the top side of the part 29, two lips 2| are provided which serve to press the two stem pieces it against the holder I I. On either side of th vertical part there is provided a lip 22 having its outer end portion bent in such manner as to fit into the groove ll of the stem pieces Hi. On the lower end of the vertical part 20, there is provided a bent rim 23 (see Figure 8) which engages or grips into the groove M of the holder ii.

The spring structure Ii) is in fact somewhat house-shaped, the house being formed by the vertical part 29 and the lips 2i and 22, and this makes it easy to fasten the spring structure over the back l3 of the holder H, the bent rim 23 thereby engaging or gripping the groove 14 and thus assuring the fixing and securing of the spring structure It upon the holder I l. The stem pieces l6 of the thread guiding parts 9 can then be shifted along the plate E2 in the house-shaped structure formed by the spring structure I0. On the other hand, it is also possible to first set the two thread guiding parts 9 in place on the holder II and then fasten the spring structure Iii over the back [3 and the parts 9.

The two thread guiding parts 9. may be very easily removed from the thread guiding holder H, either together or separately. The narrow slot or slit 8 defined by the cooperating planes iii of the two thread guiding parts 9 can in that way be easily checked and/or cleaned. The plate I2 which serves to separate the thread guiding parts 9 to the desired extent can be readily and accurately calibrated to parts of a millimetre for predetermining the width of the slot 8. The flat or planifcrm sides it can be finished completely flat or, if desired, they may first be rough finished and then polished. Should either of the thread guiding parts 9 be damaged or cut-in by the moving thread or otherwise, that part can be replaced easily and without disturbing the other part 2-) with which it cooperates.

For winding threads delustered with titanium oxide, such as rayon threads, or completely synthetic threads, such as threads from polyamides, where hi h thread speeds are often employed, the thread guiding structure according to the present invention offers special advantages.

The material of which the thread guiding parts 9 that actually engage the moving thread are constructed can be selected at will. Thus, besides the well-known ceramic materials, such as porcelain, it is also possible to use still harder materials which are difiicult to work, such as synthetic rubies and the like materials. For thread guides employed heretofore the use of the last-mentioned materials has been very difiicult.

It is to be particularly noted that the individual parts of the thread guiding portions of the thread guide according to the present invention may be secured and kept at the desired distance from each other in any other way that might bepreferred rather than that described above, without departing from the spirit of the present in-- vention. For example, it is not necessary that the two upper lips 2! of the spring structure 10 (Figures 3, 6, 7 and 8) be present if the lips 22 have an especially strong spring action. In such case th lips 22 can then also be made higher and be provided with a bent rim extending at right angles to the long dimension of said lips 22 for fitting snugly around the stem pieces [6 and for the better securing or clasping of the parts 9. The rim 23 and the cooperating groove [4 in the holder H can also be absent, particularly if the side lips 22 are bent inwardly to a somewhat greater extent than is actually shown near the vertical part 20 for better engaging the holder I l.

While specific details of a preferred embodiment of the present invention have been described above, it will be apparent that many changes and modifications may be made in the structure shown without departing from the spirit of the invention. It will therefore be understood that the particular arrangements described and set forth above are intended to be illustrative only and are not intended to limit the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A thread guide comprising a holder and two thread guiding parts removably secured to said holder in spaced relation, thereby defining a slit of predetermined width through which the thread is adapted to pass, each of the thread guiding parts consisting of a body portion and a stem portion.

2. A thread guide as defined in claim 1, wherein the two thread guiding parts are detachably connected to said holder by means of a spring structure.

3. A thread guide as defined in claim 1, wherein the width of the slit between the two thread guiding parts is determined by the thickness of a plate forming a part of the holder.

4. A thread guide as defined in claim 1, wherein the two thread guiding parts that engage the thread are formed of a refractory, abrasionresistant material.

5. A thread guide comprising a holder and two thread guiding parts detachably secured to said holder in spaced relation by spring means, thereby defining between said two thread guiding parts a slit for the passage of thread, each of the thread guiding parts consisting of a body and a stem piece provided with a groove on one side and bounded on the other side by a fiat plane.

6. A thread guide as defined in claim 5, wherein the width of the slit between the two thread guiding parts is determined by the thickness of a plate forming a part of the holder.

7. A thread guide as defined in claim 5, wherein the two thread guiding parts that engage the thread are formed of a refractory, abrasionresistant material.

8. A thread guide comprising a holder and two thread guiding parts detachably secured to said holder in spaced relation by spring means, thereby defining between said two thread guiding parts a slit of predetermined Width for the passage of thread, each of the thread guiding parts consisting of a body and a stem piece provided with a groove on one side and bounded on the other side by a flat plane, said spring means including a fiat vertical portion having a bent rim on the lower side, two lips on the top side extending from the top side of said vertical portion,- and a lip extending from each of the vertical sides of said vertical portion.

9. A thread guide as defined in claim 8, Wherein the two thread guiding parts that engage the thread are formed of a refractory, abrasionresistant material.

10. A spring structure for a split thread guide characterized in that the spring structure comprises a fiat vertical portion having a bent rim on the lower side, two lips on the top side extending from the top side of said vertical portion,

and a lip extending from each of the vertical sides of said vertical portion.

11. A holder for a split thread guide comprising an elongated metal strip provided with a ver-- tically extending back portion located crosswise of the strip and having fastened thereto at ap proximately the middle thereof a vertically extending plate of predetermined thickness extending at right angles to said vertically extending back and to said metal strip.

12. A holder for a split thread guide comprising an elongated metal strip provided with a vertically extending back portion crosswise of the strip and in the lower end of one side of which a groove is present, and having fastened thereto at approximately the middle of the other side a vertically extending plate of predetermined thickness extending at right angles to said, vertically extending back and to said metal strip.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,912,256 Coradi May 30, 1933 2,299,344 Perry Oct. 20, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 674,994 France May 13, 1929 

